Nicholaus Ngelela Luhende
Nicholaus Ngelela Luhende works for Actions for Democracy and Local Governance – ADLG which advocates for active participation of citizens, local democracy and governance in the Shinyanga region of Tanzania. ADLG was formed to combat the poor governance and political decision-making that affects the welfare of poor and marginalised Tanzanians by building capacity of communities to effectively advocate for their rights. Its work particularly focuses on mining, farming and fishing communities. ADLG has been running its governance programme since 2011 and a core component of the programme is training sessions and on-going mentoring and coaching to encourage communities to demand a voice in the policy-making process at local and national levels.
Human rights defenders working in peripheral areas far away from Dar Es Salaam, the capital city, face particular challenges ranging from constant police harassment, poor access to donor funding and low capacity to articulate a coherent advocacy strategy.
